Illini in the Pros (Football)

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#126      
Battle89
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Broncos are in full-fledged Super Bowl mode.

— Defense is outstanding. 3rd best scoring defense in the NFL last season; led the league in sacks.

— Best best O-Line in the sport.

— Jaylen Waddle / Courtland Sutton / Pat Bryant at WR.

— Dobbins is a good RB when healthy.

— Bo Nix should be primed to take a leap with the talent around him.

Honestly staggering how well they’ve recovered from the Russell Wilson disaster.
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Pat Bryant deserves every accolade thrown is way, what a great player and great guy.

And somewhere deep in my posting history is a thread from that QB-heavy 2024 draft, where I said I'd take Nix. Still can't believe five QBs went before him.
 
#127      
Hereforit
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
The luxury of having your QB on a rookie deal.

They can afford a monster team for now.

Once they pay Nix, they’ll experience significant cap pressure.
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True. This is where your GM (and staff) need to be elite, and they are quite good. The R. Wilson debacle wasn’t great but there were extenuating circumstances there; probably a little less on the new GM (Paton) than would be otherwise and a little more on the disfunction of the Broncos organization/ownership debacle post the Pat Bowlen era and pre the Walton-Penner family era. Either way, Paton is a great GM who learned under Spielman for years with the Vikes.
 
#137      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
The luxury of having your QB on a rookie deal.

They can afford a monster team for now.

Once they pay Nix, they’ll experience significant cap pressure.
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Yep, and that’s where I think the value of quarterbacks is overstated.

I’d much rather have an elite team, than pay up for one guy and deplete every other spot on the roster.

I’m surprised teams don’t rotate quarterbacks on rookie contracts. Once a guy’s deal is up, you don’t HAVE to re-sign him just because he’s a QB. You can find your next Bo Nix in the draft for the next 4-5 years (maybe trade up, give up 1 or 2 firsts).

That way, you remain a championship contender, because the rest of the team stays elite.
 
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#138      
Fly Illini Fly!
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Yep, and that’s where I think the value of quarterbacks is overstated.

I’d much rather have an elite team, than pay up for one guy and deplete every other spot on the roster.

I’m surprised teams don’t rotate quarterbacks on rookie contracts. Once a guy’s deal is up, you don’t HAVE to re-sign him just because he’s a QB. You can find your next Bo Nix in the draft for the next 4-5 years (maybe trade up, give up 1 or 2 firsts).

That way, you remain a championship contender, because the rest of the team stays elite.
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There’s zero guarantee that the next quarterback will be Bo Nix.
 
#139      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Yep, and that’s where I think the value of quarterbacks is overstated.

I’d much rather have an elite team, than pay up for one guy and deplete every other spot on the roster.

I’m surprised teams don’t rotate quarterbacks on rookie contracts. Once a guy’s deal is up, you don’t HAVE to re-sign him just because he’s a QB. You can find your next Bo Nix in the draft for the next 4-5 years (maybe trade up, give up 1 or 2 firsts).

That way, you remain a championship contender, because the rest of the team stays elite.
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what's the logic here? so KC shouldn't have re signed Mohomes? BUF shouldn't have re signed Allen?

you need to keep your quarterback.
 
#141      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
what's the logic here? so KC shouldn't have re signed Mohomes? BUF shouldn't have re signed Allen?

you need to keep your quarterback.
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Those are literally the top 2 quarterbacks in the entire league.

You have to ask yourself: "Is the quarterback SO good, that his mere presence on the roster guarantees a SB contender every year?"

Allen? The answer is yes.
Mahomes? The answer is yes.
Caleb Williams in 4 years? I think the answer will be yes.

If the answer is no, then I'm not sure it's worth it to dismantle a core that's seemingly top 5 at every position (like Denver has right now).

Clearly there's other dimensions to it, which is why front office people don't see it that way.

Then again, if your team isn't that good, you probably aren't parting with that many assets to begin with.
 
#142      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Those are literally the top 2 quarterbacks in the entire league.

You have to ask yourself: "Is the quarterback SO good, that his mere presence on the roster guarantees a SB contender every year?"

Allen? The answer is yes.
Mahomes? The answer is yes.
Caleb Williams in 4 years? I think the answer will be yes.

If the answer is no, then I'm not sure it's worth it to dismantle a core that's seemingly top 5 at every position (like Denver has right now).

Clearly there's other dimensions to it, which is why front office people don't see it that way.

Then again, if your team isn't that good, you probably aren't parting with that many assets to begin with.
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It's been the gist of the NFL for decades (who am I or you to justify or criticize it).

Anyone can have a young QB. That's not some major accomplishment.

Young QB + not very good —> not worth going all-in for.

Young QB + very good —> that's when you go all-in, and assemble the monster team Denver has (via free agent signings, extending your young guys, etc).

Then the QB commands an extension —> rebuild phase, rest of the guys depart. Hopefully you've drafted well to feast on cheap contracts (if not, oh well).

It's literally the process we saw Kansas City go through.
 
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#143      
Mr. Tibbs
drafting a qb in the first round is no guarantee he will be worthy . it’s a 50% likelihood at best .

see Bears 1990-2024

my preference is to keep the good one you have after his initial contract for another 5 years or so . letting him walk is a huge risk
 
#144      
Fly Illini Fly!
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
You have to ask yourself: "Is the quarterback SO good, that his mere presence on the roster guarantees a SB contender every year?"

Allen? The answer is yes.
Mahomes? The answer is yes.
Caleb Williams in 4 years? I think the answer will be yes.

If the answer is no, then I'm not sure it's worth it to dismantle a core that's seemingly top 5 at every position (like Denver has right now).
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If the answer was "no," then Denver wouldn't have built the roster they have around him. That "core" you're talking about wouldn't even exist, if they didn't think Nix was that guy.

It'd just be like the Bears with Justin Fields.

Clearly Nix is in line for that extension. This is Denver's best chance at the prize since the Manning years.
 
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#146      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Unofficial Broncos depth chart released:

www.denverbroncos.com

Broncos release initial unofficial 2026 depth chart

Ahead of their preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, the Broncos have released their initial unofficial depth chart for the 2026 season.
www.denverbroncos.com www.denverbroncos.com

Starting WR tandem: Sutton-Waddle-Mims.

PB -- 2nd string wideout.
Miles Scott -- 3rd string safety.
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Surprise to see Mims there. Don't think he generated as much buzz as Bryant.

If it was Troy Franklin starting (who had over 700 yards), that might've made more sense.
 
#147      
Hereforit
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
Surprise to see Mims there. Don't think he generated as much buzz as Bryant.

If it was Troy Franklin starting (who had over 700 yards), that might've made more sense.
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Mims had an awesome start to camp then came up with some muscle tightness. He’s more versatile than Franklin as well.

The only reason they have Mims as the 3 here is because PB is an “X” in the Denver system. Reality: PB is the 3 and will probably even take some Sutton reps this season baring injury.
 
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#148      
Hereforit
Fly Illini Fly! said:
If the answer was "no," then Denver wouldn't have built the roster they have around him. That "core" you're talking about wouldn't even exist, if they didn't think Nix was that guy.

It'd just be like the Bears with Justin Fields.

Clearly Nix is in line for that extension. This is Denver's best chance at the prize since the Manning years.
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100%. Unless Nix completely falls off the rails - and even then it may not matter - he is going to be extended no latter than late summer/early fall 27 is my guess.
 
#149      
Fly Illini Fly!
Hereforit said:
100%. Unless Nix completely falls off the rails - and even then it may not matter - he is going to be extended no latter than late summer/early fall 27 is my guess.
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IMG_1295.jpeg
 
#150      
Hereforit
Fly Illini Fly! said:
View attachment 51163
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Yep. He is probably one of the most disrespected good young QB’s I’ve seen in a while. He’s not flawless obviously, has lacked some consistency and at times feels like he’s more tepid than he should be about throwing over the middle. But he is a gamer with the stats to back it up.

Let’s see what happens with Davis Webb as the play-caller this year as opposed to Payton. As good as Sean has been historically, the Denver play-calling on O - for chunks of time - was quite stagnant last year. Took some humility for Payton to let go of that, which isn’t something he’s typically known for lol.
 
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